Happily, this sombre state was a little relieved a few days after, by the arrival of a cutter from England; which brought considerable supplies, both of consolation and money, for his Sicilian Majesty.  On the 21st of April, his lordship now writes to Captain Ball, that his efforts to obtain a small sum of money for the unhappy Maltese had been useless, till the arrival of this vessel from England; “which,” says he, “brought the court such accounts of goodness, that Sir William and myself again touched the point about Malta, when the queen gave up seven thousand ounces; for, although the island has granted two millions of money, yet not one sixpence is collected; therefore, they are in distress enough.  If any person can keep the Maltese in good humour, it is, my dear friend, you and you only; therefore, for all our sakes, try hard till the arrival of the Russians, who cannot now be long before they make their appearance.”  Then, adverting to Naples, his lordship adds—­“All goes on as it should, on the other side.  The lower order only want a little support from the regular troops, and the business is over.”

Captain Troubridge, indeed, was proceeding with great vigour; but the Sicilian judge, it appears, did not accord with our naval heroes in his notions of criminal justice.  Cardinal Ruffo, too, seems to have entertained what they considered as erroneous ideas of lenity.  If the judge and the cardinal really meant to be merciful; whatever might be the effect of such good intentions, the motive is not possible to be condemned:  they might be weak, but they would not be criminal.  On the other hand, the possessors of that wisdom which perceives when it is necessary to make examples of the incorrigibly guilty, for the preservation of the menaced innocent, as well as of those who are yet unconfirmed in crimes; and of that firmness and fortitude which then induce them to risk all the obloquy of contrary appearance, for the sake of producing true lenity in it’s fullest extent; are not to be considered as by any means less inclined to mercy than those who, without loving it more, do not conduce so much to it’s genuine interests.  Often, however, the really merciful, for the openly avowed and honest discharge of a severe duty, are condemned, by the inconsiderate zeal of weak and vulgar minds; while those who are induced artfully to draw dispositions of a malignant, treacherous, or sanguinary nature, in the semblance of merciful habits, for the mere purpose of acquiring the popularity of that applause to which this divine attribute must ever entitle it’s amiable possessors, are idolized by the unreflecting crowd, as the sincerest friends of the very virtue to which they are, in truth, the severest enemies.

The following letter to Captain Troubridge, who had communicated his sentiments on this subject to Lord Nelson, fully demonstrates his lordship’s disdain of any improper interference with the criminal jurisdiction of his Sicilian Majesty’s government, however it might fail to meet with his approbation.  It speaks, his free sentiments both of the judge and cardinal; but hastens to other topics, of better aspect, and comprehends several points of interesting elucidation.